The present invention relates to a tie for pairing together two objects such as shoes or sneakers or gloves.
Ties are widely used for the bundling of objects such as a group of wires. One known tie comprises a serrated strap that is fitted to an apertured head containing an internal pawl or locking tang that engages the serrations of the strap. Another known tie is in the form of an apertured strap fitted to a buckle-like head, with a tongue that enters the apertures of the strap.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,766,608 to Fay, which is incorporated herein by reference, there is disclosed a tie formed by a locking head and an attached ladder strap. The head contains a longitudinal guide channel for receiving the strap, after encirclement of items to be bundled, and an internal locking tang. The latter is deflected with respect to relatively narrow auxiliary channels on opposite sides of the guide channel. One of the auxiliary channels receives the locking tang during the bundling of the items; the other auxiliary channel contains a stop against which the locking tang becomes abutted in planar engagement by the reverse thrust of the harnessed items.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,347,648 to Dekkers, which is incorporated herein by reference, there is disclosed a tie formed by a locking head and an attached ladder strap. The head contains a locking tang and a guide channel that receives the strap after encirclement of items to be bundled. The tang engages the rungs of the ladder strap for the adjustable retention of the items. The free end of the strap has a light-weight webbed tail that facilitates the insertion of the strap into the head. The strap is advantageously molded of a stretch reorientable material and is subsequently stretched to produce a suitable strengthening and elongation of the webbed tail.
Ties have been found to be very useful and effective in bundling objects together. In addition, some ties, particularly the tie described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,347,648 to Dekkers, have also been used to pair together articles of commerce, such as pairs of shoes. Used in this manner, the tie does not hold the pair of articles together in a bundle but rather serves to keep the two pieces of merchandise together. In this capacity, the tie has been found to be very a useful device, for example, in displaying a pair of shoes for sale.
To use a tie of the type described above to pair together a pair of shoes, the tail end of the strap is inserted through an eyelet or under the shoelace of each shoe. The tail is then inserted through the guide channel of the head so that the strap forms a closed loop. As the strap is further drawn forward through the guide channel of the head, the closed loop decreases in size.
It should be noted that if the strap is drawn too far forward through the guide channel of the head, the size of the closed loop of the tie will become too small to enable a prospective buyer to comfortably put on both shoes at the same time because the two shoes will be too close to each other.
Accordingly, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,048 to J. C. Benoit, which issued on Nov. 11, 1997 and which is incorporated herein by reference, there is disclosed a merchandise pairing tie for use in pairing together two objects. The tie comprises a head having an elongated channel extending therethrough, a locking tang within the head, and a strap extending from the head. The strap is approximately 30 cm in length and is formed in a ladder structure having a plurality of rungs. The rungs of the strap are sequentially engaged by the locking tang when the strap is inserted into and through the elongated channel to form a closed loop. As the strap is further inserted through the elongated channel, the size of the closed loop is decreased. The tie further includes a projection formed on a rung of the strap and located approximately 26 cm from the head. The projection protrudes upward from the rung approximately 1 mm and serves as a stop to limit the minimum size of the closed loop which can be formed when the strap is inserted into the head.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new tie of the type having a locking head and an attached ladder strap.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a tie as described above which is particularly useful in pairing two objects.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a tie as described above which is inexpensive to manufacture and easy to use.
Accordingly, there is provided a tie for pairing together two objects comprising a head having an elongated channel extending therethrough, a locking tang within said head, a strap having a first end and a second end, the first end being integrally formed onto said head, and a projection formed on said strap between the first end and the second end, the portion of said strap from said projection to the first end being in the shape of a filament, the portion of said strap from said projection to the second end being engagable by said locking tang when said strap is inserted into and through the elongated channel to form a closed loop, wherein increased insertion of said strap through the elongated channel decreases the size of the closed loop, said projection limiting the minimum size of the closed loop which can be formed.
Additional objects, as well as features and advantages, of the present invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description or may be learned by practice of the invention. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part thereof and in which is shown by way of illustration an embodiment for practicing the invention. The embodiment will be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is best defined by the appended claims.